“Height?” I asked, flummoxed. The course we did yesterday was only a few feet off the ground. Were we doing something else with ropes, but higher up in the air? Hopefully it didn’t involve walking across a tightrope or bungee jumping or something.
Kristen shrugged. “That’s all anyone would tell me about it.”
“I almost don’t want to know,” I joked as we followed our instructor and the rest of my coworkers along the path in the woods.
A few minutes later we came into a clearing that contained a giant obstacle course. There were tires lined up on the ground that we had to run across by stepping into the center of each one, a steep ramp with ropes to hold onto as you climbed up to the top, and even some tunnels to crawl through. I wondered what Kristen had been talking about when she mentioned that today’s activity involved height, and my heart dropped as I finally noticed that farther in the distance was the “height” challenge that we were here to do—a zip line. There was a ramp leading up to a small wooden deck area, and from there you crossed a cable bridge to a zip line attached to a tree where the earth started to slope down. I couldn’t even really tell how high off the ground it was from here, but it looked absolutely terrifying.
Today we had a new instructor, a tall guy named Jason. He was 6’3” and looked rock solid. As he stepped up to speak to our group, he ended up beside Travis, and I noticed they were both about the same size. “All right,” Jason said, holding up his arms to get our attention and gesturing for those still meandering along to come over. “Today we have a new challenge for you. First, as a little warm-up, we’re going to do an obstacle course. I’m sure you all noticed it as soon as we entered the clearing. And after that,” he said, breaking into a big grin, “we’re going to do some zip-lining.”
“Cool,” came a few whispers from some of the guys in our group. Elizabeth was standing near me, and she let out a little groan. I glanced up at the wire high in the air and felt my stomach clench in fear. I’d never been zip-lining before and hadn’t exactly planned to start today.
“But, first things first,” Jason said loudly, drawing attention back to him. “We’ll go over instructions for the zip line in a little while. Now we’re going to have some fun on the obstacle course.”
The course was rather self-explanatory, but he went over a few details. We paired off into teams of two and were having a friendly competition to see which team could finish the course the fastest. I’d been teamed up with Jeff. Before long it was our turn, and I was running along beside him through the tires. I quickly ducked down to crawl through the tunnel and found myself actually coming out ahead of Jeff because I was smaller. The next part was climbing up the steep ramp. There were ropes hanging down to assist us, but because Jeff was stronger, he quickly was able to run up it, pulling himself to the top. I was about 3/4 of the way up when I’d begun losing momentum. I kind of felt like I had yesterday during the ropes course—not exactly failing the challenge, but unable to complete it either. Luckily we were working in teams today, because I don’t think I could have finished the obstacle course on my own. Jeff was able to reach down and pull me up slightly. With his help, I soon found myself scampering over the top.
Our coworkers were cheering us on by this point, and I heard Kristen shouting for us to hurry. Jeff jumped down from the top of the ramp onto the soft grass below. As he reached up to help me down, I caught a glimpse of Travis on the sidelines, looking slightly forlorn as Jeff’s hands gripped me around the waist, helping me jump safely to the ground. There wasn’t time to wonder about Travis’s expression now though, as we still had to finish the course. The last part was a simple potato sack race, probably just designed for fun after the hardest part of the challenge. We each grabbed a bag and hopped our way to the finish. Jason was standing there, stopwatch in hand, when we came across. Jeff finished ahead of me, but I was close behind. “Three minutes and seventeen seconds!” Jason shouted.
“Wahoo!” one of my female coworkers shouted.
It turned out that Jeff and I had the fastest time so far, but several other teams still had to go. He high-fived me, and I collapsed onto the grass, ready to sit back and watch the others now that my turn was over.
Travis wandered over and sat down beside me. “Not bad, Smith,” he said with a grin.
I laughed and raised my eyebrows. “Oh yeah? Think you can beat our time?”
“Probably not,” he admitted with a chuckle. Travis had ended up with a middle-aged woman named Margaret from our office. She was nice but didn’t really seem like the type who would dive head first into an obstacle course. She was slightly overweight and more someone that you would pick to chit-chat with and have a fun conversation over coffee in the break room than to be your teammate for a physical competition. Luckily Travis was good natured enough that he’d probably still have fun even if they had little chance of winning.
We heard cheers and looked up to see the next team climbing up the ramp and over the wall. It was Kristen and a tall, lanky guy from our office named Dave that I didn’t know very well. They both jumped down from the wall and raced toward the last leg of the course. I laughed as I watched them struggling to quickly step into their potato sacks and hop their way to the finish line. Of course I realized that I had probably looked equally ridiculous doing the course.
“Well, looks like I’m up next,” Travis said, jumping to his feet. “Coming to watch?” he asked, holding out his hand to help me up.
“You bet,” I said with a grin. I reached out and felt his strong hand wrap around mine, and in one swift movement, he quickly pulled me up. We walked over to the start of the obstacle course, where Travis’s partner Margaret was waiting.
“It looks like it’s our turn,” she said to Travis. “Hopefully I won’t slow you down too much,” she said with a chuckle.
“Oh, I’m sure you’ll do fine,” he said warmly.
I stepped back with my other coworkers to watch the start of the race. Travis was practically bouncing up and down full of energy and ready to go.
“Ready, set, go!” Jason called out, starting the stopwatch.
Travis and Margaret raced through the tires, starting off at a good pace. Travis shimmied through the tunnel faster than her, but Margaret looked like she was having fun and trying. I was sure that climbing up the ramp was going to be her undoing, and as she attempted it and ended up sliding back down, I could see that I had been right. Travis had already made it to the top when she held up her hands in defeat. “I’m sorry, I just can’t do it!” she said with a little laugh.
“Keep going!” our instructor Jason called out.
Margaret laughed and walked away, calling out another apology to Travis. It was evident that the race was indeed over.
Travis jumped down from the top of the ramp and came walking over to where a group of us stood. The last two contestants were getting ready to run the obstacle course, but most of my coworkers were already eyeing the zip line in the distance.
“So much for that,” Travis said with a laugh as he walked up.
“You looked like you were making pretty good time, man,” Jeff said, clapping him on the back.
“Yeah, guess we’ll never find out for sure. Scaling that ramp was pretty cool though.”
“You’re having way too much fun,” I said with a laugh.
“Maybe so,” he agreed, a twinkle in his eyes. “I’m really looking forward to the zip line, though.”
“Uh yeah, me too,” I joked, knowing he would never believe it.
“Oh, you’ll do great Maddy,” he said with a smile. My eyes locked with his for a moment, and I wondered how he knew that I was scared and to reassure me.
“All right,” our instructor Jason interrupted, “The winners are…Kristen and Dave! You’ve earned bragging rights with the rest of your coworkers.”
There was a little whooping and hollering going on amongst the others. Jeff jokingly groaned and glanced over my way. “So close!” he said.
I smi
led sympathetically. “So close, and yet so far.”
“Hey, at least you guys finished,” Travis said. “Maybe after this zip line thing, obstacle course, you and me,” he said, grinning at Jeff.
“You’re on!” Jeff answered, his eyes lighting up.
Unbelievable, I thought. Most of us hadn’t even wanted to do the course, and these two were already dying to have at it again. I looked back over to Jason, realizing that we were missing the beginning of his instructions regarding the zip line. “…so each of you will need to wear a climbing harness.” He started handing them out, and as I looked at mine, I wondered exactly how to put it on and what we had missed while we were talking. A few minutes later Jason demonstrated how they worked. As I slipped mine on, he came around and checked to make sure everyone had theirs secured properly and then led us over to the zip line area.
Jason walked up the ramp to the wooden platform, which was connected to the cable bridge. “All right,” Jason called out from atop the platform, looking down at our team. “Once you get up here, you’ll cross the cable bridge to the start of the zip line. I’ll be up there to secure you in, and then gravity will do the rest.” He grinned again, and I glanced nervously at Elizabeth. I was somewhat relieved to see that she didn’t exactly look thrilled either at the idea of going down the zip line.
“How many of you have been zip-lining before?”
Travis raised his hand—of course.
“All right, you’re going to go first then. I want you to help everyone unhook their harness from the ropes after they reach the bottom.”
“Sounds good to me,” he said with a grin.
“Does anyone have any questions before we begin?” Jason asked.
“What kind of cable is that exactly?” one woman asked nervously.
“That is a steel cable 3/8” thick,” he answered matter-of-factly.
“Has anyone ever gotten injured before?” Elizabeth asked.
“On the zip line? No.”
Elizabeth and I looked uneasily at each other again. What exactly had someone gotten injured on? There was no time to find out now, because Jason had begun ushering people up the ramp to the cable bridge.
A few minutes later Travis was already safely on the ground, another man and woman from our office had gone down, and it was now my turn. Jason attached various hooks and ropes to my harness as I mentally prepared myself to go.
“Have you been down a zip line before?” he asked as he made some adjustments and tested everything to make sure it was locked into place.
“Never,” I said nervously.
“Don’t worry, it’s really easy. As soon as you’re ready just step off the platform. You’ll have a nice easy ride down and a great view of the forest on the way.”
My hands started to sweat as I nervously walked over to the edge of the platform. I knew Travis was down there waiting at the end of the line, but I was too scared to even look for him. My heart started pounding in my chest, and I wondered if it was too late to turn around and go back the way I’d come. I could probably just walk back across the bridge and then down the wooden ramp from the platform. How embarrassing would that be though if I was the only one who didn’t complete the task?
“Hold onto this tightly,” Jason said, gently tugging on the rope that was attached to the pulley and bringing my mind back to the present.
I nodded uncertainly and gulped, feeling shaky. I vaguely wondered how I’d be able to hold onto the pulley and enjoy the ride on the way down if my hands and legs were shaking. The fact that I would be tethered to the pulley did little to ease my mind. The longer I stood here, however, the more the panic was starting to rise in me. I felt so high up in the air and vulnerable on this little platform, I was actually starting to want to get down as quickly as possible, even if it meant using the zip line.
“Don’t look down, just hold on tight and step off whenever you’re ready,” Jason said patiently.
I clutched the handles on the pulley as my heart pounded, and holding my breath, I took a little jump off the platform. The ground started moving beneath me and trees rushed by as I glided through the air along the zip line. I shakily let out my breath and realized that it was actually kind of fun if I didn’t think about falling and the fact that only a little rope or cable or something was securing me to the zip line. I was so high up in the air, but there was no way to stop now, so I tried to ignore that thought and instead just focus on the freedom of soaring through the trees. I just had to hold on until I reached the other end of the line, and then I would be done.
“You’re doing great, Maddy!” Travis called out from below. I watched as he got closer and closer, and I realized that I had actually done it. Before long I was descending the last few yards and my feet shakily touched the ground. I stumbled forward from the momentum I’d gathered, and Travis grabbed onto my arm to steady me. My hands shook as I immediately reached for the carabiner to unhook the rope.
“Are you okay, Maddy?” he asked, his deep voice sounding worried, as he stepped directly in front of me and placed both his hands on my arms.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” I said, glancing up into his warm brown eyes. His chiseled face was set in a look of concern as he gazed down at me. I continued yanking at the carabiner, trying to release myself from the pulley and zip line. “It was, uh, a little scarier than I thought it would be.”
“Here, I’ll get it,” he said, reaching for my still fumbling fingers. His hands felt warm as they touched mine, and neither of us moved as he unhooked the rope from my safety harness, so that his hands were resting directly on top of mine. “All set,” he said softly.
“Thanks,” I whispered, looking back up into his eyes. We stood there another few seconds, neither of us seeming to want the moment to end, until someone nearby cleared their throat. I pulled away, and as Travis’s eyes locked again with mine, I wondered what had just passed between us.
***
I walked into the office the next morning feeling like I was crashing back down to earth, back into reality. I was running a few minutes late, so I went directly to the conference room for our weekly meeting without stopping by my desk. The low buzz of voices filled the room as I walked in. Everyone was seated in their usual places, Travis sipping on a cup of takeout coffee, Elizabeth eating a bagel. Marissa’s notebook was on the table, and she was standing nearby talking to Jennifer and one of the web developers. I sat down next to her empty chair and was only vaguely aware of the din around me as Travis caught my eye and gave me a quick grin before turning his attention back to whatever Elizabeth was saying. My mind flashed back to the retreat. Although everything here was the same as the week before, it was as if suddenly my whole world had shifted.
Chapter 10
“God, this day is killing me,” Marissa announced at lunch as she sat down at our table. Travis, Elizabeth, and I were already there, talking as we finished eating.
“You still look alive to me,” Travis joked, raising his eyebrows.
“Ha, ha,” Marissa replied as she pried the top off her salad container. “I just meant that I need a break from this stress. This has been a crazy week.”
“It’s our first day back in the office,” I said with a laugh.
“It’s been a crazy day then,” she said rolling her eyes. “You two take everything so literally.”
I caught Travis’s eye and grinned, and I noticed he tried to suppress a smile as Marissa looked back and forth between us.
“You both seem way too happy. I mean we are still at work, right?” she said, taking a bite of her salad. “We didn’t just magically end up at some exotic beach or something—which, by the way, would be awesome! I could be sipping a pina colada, working on my tan….”
“Oh Marissa,” Elizabeth said with a smile, “you are too much sometimes.”
“And that’s why you love me,” Marissa concluded, taking a sip of her diet iced tea.
“Definitely,” I agreed.
“We should go out ton
ight,” Marissa said suddenly, eyes lighting up. “I can’t even remember the last time we went to happy hour, and I need a break, like seriously.”
“Seriously,” Travis agreed.
Marissa picked up the packet of crackers that came with her salad and tossed them across the table at him.
“Hey!” he said good-naturedly, easily catching them midair in one hand.
“What was that for?” I asked with a laugh, glancing over at her.
“Watch it, Smith,” Marissa said, giving me a stern look. “You’re next.”
I held up my hands in mock surrender and saw Travis laughing.
“I’m up for a happy hour tonight,” Elizabeth said, steering the conversation back on course. “We haven’t been to Texas Cantina in a while.”
“Yeah, but that’s across town and will be so crowded,” Marissa said, frowning. “There’s no way I can get out of here early today.”
“Rock Bottom?” I asked, naming the bar around the corner from our apartments.
“Ohhhh, that would be perfect,” she said with a grin.
“That’s fine with me,” said Elizabeth.
“I’m in,” Travis replied.
We agreed to meet for drinks at 6:30. After we finished lunch, I went back to my office and edited some of the new reviews that had come in today. Marissa was in a meeting, so it was fairly quiet for a change. I went to grab a coffee late in the afternoon, and as I walked down the block, I shivered slightly, noticing that it had gotten cool out again. Of course I hadn’t bothered to bring a jacket today. I was wearing a lightweight cream cashmere sweater, but it wasn’t warm enough to fend off the return of the cold weather. I hurried back to the office to warm up and finish the reviews I was working on before happy hour. An hour later, I still hadn’t seen Marissa and wondered what time she’d be back.
I flipped open my phone to send her a text message.
Almost time for happy hour. Ready to go soon?
My phone beeped as her reply came back less than thirty seconds later.
Stuck with the web gurus. Meet you there.
First Sight Page 12
